An Editorial from Early Pelham Newspaper The Register Published in 1906

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Pelham had a number of early newspapers of which no copies (or an insignificant number of copies) are known to exist.  One such newspaper was The Register, a Democratic newspaper published in the early years of the 20th century.

I have written about the history of Pelham's various newspapers before.  For examples, see:

Mon., Aug. 04, 2014:  A History of Newspapers Published in Pelham.

Thu., Jun. 26, 2014:  A History of the Early Years of The Pelham Sun, A Pelham Newspaper Institution. 

Mon., Sep. 05, 2005:  The Pelham Republican:  Official Newspaper of The Villages of Pelham and North Pelham in 1902. 

Mon., May 23, 2005:  Thomas M. Kennett, Long Time Editor of The Pelham Sun. 

Fri., Apr. 01, 2005:  The Earliest Newspaper in Pelham?

The Register likely was Democrats' answer to The Republican, a newspaper published in Pelham during at least the years 1902 and 1903, if not later.  In his account of early Pelham newspapers published in 1929, J. Gardiner Minard recalled that The Register was founded after The Pelham Sun in 1910.  Minard's memory, however, failed him.  It is clear that The Register existed as early as 1906 and, perhaps, earlier.  

According to Minard, Charles B. Forbes (who later became publisher of the White Plains Daily Press) founded The Register with the assistance of J. Gardiner Minard.  In 1929, Minard wrote:  

"Between the two of us we kept the political pot boiling. Forbes received a tempting offer from a Washington, D. C. newspaper for a few years, during which time I pulled off a neat stunt. Robert Lucas Forbes, brother of my original partner, was running the New Rochelle Paragraph and although it was independently Republican, he found conditions in New Rochelle so unbearable that he supported the Democratic candidates in spite of threats from the Republican Committees to deprive him of then county printing. My paper was Democratic and when the official county newspapers were designated the Register was included, and I celebrated the event by transferring the paper to Forbes. Mr. Ceder subsequently consolidated the Record and Register with the Pelham Sun."

Source:  Minard, J. Gardiner, MANY NEWSPAPERS HAVE ENTERED PELHAM FIELD SINCE PELHAM PRESS WAS PUBLISHED IN 1896, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 5, 1929, p. 9, cols. 1-6.

No known copies of The Register exist today.  Yet it is possible to get a little flavor of the publication by virtue of an editorial it published in 1906 that was reprinted in the October 3, 1906 issue of the Daily Argus published in Mount Vernon.  

Pelham Democrats were very unhappy in October, 1906.  They were angry about the Democratic ticket for State positions that would be decided in the November 6 election.  Indeed, they seemed a little embarrassed about the contrast between the well-organized, smooth, and orderly Republican State Convention held September 25-26 and the somewhat tumultuous and disorderly Democratic State Convention held September 25-27.

Following an intervention by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, the Republican Convention nominated Charles E. Hughes for Governor, Merton E. Lewis for Comptroller, and renominated all remaining incumbent State officers by acclamation.  In contrast, at their State Convention Democrats nominated William Randolph Hearst as candidate for governor on the first ballot.  Independence League candidates were proffered for a number of remaining positions so that a Democratic / Independence League fusion ticket was presented to voters in the November election.    

Pelham Democrats were not unhappy with the Democratic / Independence League fusion ticket.  Rather, they were unhappy with the nomination of William Randolph Hearts as the Democratic candidate for Governor.  The editorial that appeared in The Register stated:

"'The Democratic nominations made at Buffalo last week are a keen disappointment to the old line Democrats who relied upon their delegates to name a strong man who would stand a good chance against any candidate the Republican party might name.  On the contrary, they named a decidedly weak man, one whose inconsistency is shown in assailing Boss Murphy, Bourke Cockran and Pat McCarren less than six months ago and now delightedly and contentedly basking in their smiles.  The contrast between the smooth running, orderly convention at Saratoga and the disorderly conference is as striking as the characters of the nominees.  The Register is Democratic and accepts the result, unless it is proved conclusively that honestly elected delegates were barred by dishonest methods from the convention.'"

Pelham Democrats and their local mouthpiece, The Register, seemed to agree with most New Yorkers.  In the November 6 election that followed, the entire Democratic / Independence fusion ticket was elected with the exception of William Randolph Hearst who was rejected by New York voters throughout the State but especially in New York City.  Significantly, with the exception of the governorship, the election results ended a twelve-year Republican era in New York State politics.  See "New York State Election, 1906" in Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Oct. 7, 2017).

William Randolph Hearst, 1906 Democratic Candidate for

Governor of the State of New York, a Nomination with Which

Pelham Democrats and the Democratic Newspaper The

Register were Dissatisfied.  Source:  Wikipedia.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"PELHAM DEMOCRATIC PAPER DISATISFIED [sic] WITH HEARST
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The Register Says Nomination Is Unsatisfactory and Remarks Upon Candidate's Inconsistency.
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North Pelham, Oct. 3. -- If an editorial which appeared in the Pelham Register of this week's issue is any criterion, the Democratic party in Pelham is in a disgruntled state of mind concerning the nominations made at the Democratic convention in Buffalo.

The Register, which is purported to be the Democratic organ of the town, is dissatisfied with the way things went at Buffalo, and contrasts the Republican convention with the Democratic convention, referring to the former as a 'smooth running and orderly convention,' and the latter as the 'disorderly Buffalo conference.'

The editorial follows, showing no doubt the sentiment of the sober-minded Democrats of the town:  'The Democratic nominations made at Buffalo last week are a keen disappointment to the old line Democrats who relied upon their delegates to name a strong man who would stand a good chance against any candidate the Republican party might name.  On the contrary, they named a decidedly weak man, one whose inconsistency is shown in assailing Boss Murphy, Bourke Cockran and Pat McCarren less than six months ago and now delightedly and contentedly basking in their smiles.  The contrast between the smooth running, orderly convention at Saratoga and the disorderly conference is as striking as the characters of the nominees.  The Register is Democratic and accepts the result, unless it is proved conclusively that honestly elected delegates were barred by dishonest methods from the convention.'"

Source:  PELHAM DEMOCRATIC PAPER DISATISFIED [sic] WITH HEARST -- The Register Says Nomination Is Unsatisfactory and Remarks Upon Candidate's Inconsistency, Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 3, 1906, Whole No. 4435, p. 1, col. 1.

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